Nuts for Nutella!

My nephew Aaron is nuts for Nutella:  he puts it on everything.  Regardless of what is being served, Aaron still has to have his Nutella sandwich.  I decided to Google Nutella and see what I found.

Years ago, in the foothills of Italy, a bakery owner named Pietro Ferrero decided to mix hazelnuts, which are prevalent in his native region of Piedmont, with cocoa.  Chocolate was in short supply during the Second World War and Signor Ferrero thought this was a good alternative.  The original paste, called "pasta gianduja" was made into a loaf which mothers would carve, put it on bread, and serve it to their children.  However, many bambini just threw out the bread and ate the "pasta gianduja".

In 1951, Signor Ferrero decided to make "supercrema gianduja", which was creamier and spreadable, forcing children to eat both the chocolate spread and the bread.  This cream proved to be a big hit.  Italian food stores would offer "smearings" where children were given a sample for free.  Parents were happy as a kilo of the cream was a sixth the price of a kilo of chocolate.

In 1964, the "supercrema gianduja" was renamed Nutella and was sold throughout Europe.  In 1983, it was imported to the United States.  In 2006, Ferrero Rocher, the new name of the company, opened a plant right here in Brantford, Ontario, which handles not only the Canadian but the North American production of Nutella.  Now the chocolate spread is sold in 75 countries worldwide.